


No Longer Christmas

by DontBeDead



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Christmas, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-27
Updated: 2012-12-27
Packaged: 2017-11-22 14:31:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/610844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DontBeDead/pseuds/DontBeDead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Christmas will never be the same for Gabriel, not after the accident.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Longer Christmas

It was after another hunt, like so many others, nothing special about it. Except that it was Christmas, they were all alive and healthy, and they felt on top of the world. The four of them, two angels and two hunters, all happy and with those they loved.

But when Dean offered Sam the Impala to obviously get them out of the motel room so him and Cas could have some alone time, Sam eagerly jumped up at the opportunity.  He didn’t even have to look to know Gabriel was coming as he snatched up the keys and practically sprinted out of there, boots gripping the icy sidewalk tightly so he didn’t slip on the ice.

Gabriel followed out after him slowly, a gentle smile on his face as he watched his…lover/boyfriend/best friend/soul mate get into the front seat, trailing after him slowly. He’d always marvelled at how Sam Winchester could even exist, the man so broken and damaged but still with a heart of gold. He didn’t know if he’d ever be able to figure it out. So he just slipped into the passenger seat with an adoring smile on his face, reaching for his hand as the impossibly tall human started the car, pulling out onto the snowy road.

They had no real destination as they drove through the dark streets, the moon shining down upon them. The snow was falling around them heavily as they drove but neither cared, the only sound between them the steady hum of the engine, both men happy to just sit there, hands laced on the seat between them, comfortable in the silence between them. Sam cruised the streets, heating further and further from the centre of town and out into the wilderness, the forest pressing up against them on either side.

Even after all this time, Gabriel was still in awe of the nature on earth, how the moonlight reflected off the snow and gave the woods and eerily beautiful look. He gradually slid across the bench seat of the Impala and pressed up against Sam’s side, the smile he received from the human the best Christmas present he ever could have gotten.

Gabriel stayed like that, cuddled up against his human, his Sam, basking in the warmth of his hugely loving heart and incredibly warm body, having never felt as at peace as he did in that moment. He listened to his heartbeat and tapped a rhythm against his stomach as the man drove, earning himself a hum of happiness. Sam and Gabriel didn’t need to have sex every night to be happy (though, that didn’t mean they _didn’t_ ), moments like these enough to prove to one another how heavily they depended on each other.

The angel let his eyes slide closed as he rested against the one human he could trust with all his heart, soul and grace, body relaxing completely as he slipped into a sleep-like state. He hummed happily, dreaming of their future together, just the two of them, when he was jerked from his sleep.

The screech of rubber tyres on tarmac was what dragged him unwillingly from his sleep, the high pitched squeal breaking the silence and the peace of the moment. The smell of burning rubber flooded the car as he peeled his eyes opening, wondering why on Earth he was moving so much. When his eyes focused, he realized why. The world was spinning past them in a blur, the car spinning and fish tailing on the road as Sam tried to keep control of the vehicle. He was frozen, unsure how he’d become sprawled over the seats, his back aching from what must have been impact. His head was still bleary as he tried to make sense of what was happening, the only thing he really understood was the terrified scream of his name that Sam let out before there was the deafening crunch of metal before everything was still and silent.

***

Something was burning. That’s all Gabriel could tell, at the moment. There was a ringing in his ears that he didn’t understand, his eyes rolling in his head as he finally managed to peel open his eyes. There was an unbelievable heat surrounding him that he didn’t understand, not until he slowly got back his hearing. The sound of fire filled his senses and dragged him from his dazed state, Gabriel sitting up in a panic. He wondered why he was lying in the middle of the ground for a moment before he saw it.

The Impala was ten meters from the edge of the road, wrapped around a large oak tree. There was debris and bits of metal scattered everywhere, but no Sam. There was a small fire burning at the front of the car and jumping to the tree, but nothing severe right now. He struggled to his knees and crawled through the slush and ice to the side of the car, a scream breaking  from his lips when he saw Sam.

His eyes were wide open and his jaw hanging limp, the colour of his irises faded to a dull brown. Blood coated his hair and the sides of his face, a deep gash across his left temple and disappearing up into his hair. His large hands were limp by his sides, his white t-shirt and check shirt soaked red from blood. A large shard of crumbled metal from the hood of the car was embedded in his chest, visible poking out the back of him and into the driver’s seat from the way Sam’s back was arched off the seat.

There was no more blood flowing and his warm breath wasn’t ghosting into fog in front of his lips like it should be in the icy air.

Gabriel’s heart stopped in his chest, a heart-shattering scream tearing free from his lips. He tried to get in the passenger door to be with Sam, but he never had the chance. The petrol tank caught fire and exploded, sending the angel and much of the car flying. He landed on his back in the snow as bright orange flames punctured the black sky, the heat all wrong for this time of winter. His screams hadn’t stopped as the remnants of the car was engulfed in flames, the fire sending distorted flickering shadows across the snow and trees, a mixture of ash from the burning oak tree and upholstery of the car raining down along with the icy snow.

Gabriel’s screams hadn’t stopped, his cries echoing around the forest. He couldn’t move, just sat there screaming, the snow melting into his clothing and freezing him down to the bone, but it was nothing compared to the ice now in his heart. He sat there, tears freezing on his cheeks as he cried and screamed.

The flames must have been visible from whatever backwards town they were staying in, because eventually blue and red flashing lights joined the flickering orange, but Gabriel took no notice. His screamed were dampened down by the sound of sirens and the frantic sound of voices buzzing around him, paramedics rushing over to drag him from the snow. He didn’t fight them, just kept screaming as they tended to the few superficial wounds he had, wiping away the blood from his face and wrapping him in a shock blanket to try and calm him.

But Gabriel just kept screaming. He never took his eyes from the burnt wreckage as the fire fighters doused the vehicle in water, the orange eventually fading until all that was left was a burnt shell of the car and grey billowing smoke.

The flutter of wings could be heard behind him, Gabriel’s screams having been heard by all the angels. Castiel stepped around the ambulance into the light, his hand joined with Dean’s as they took in the wreckage before him. Gabriel paid them no mind as he screamed, the truth finally sinking in for Dean as the hunter collapsed against his angel. Castiel held him as he lowered them to the snow, rocking him as Dean gasped and moaned from pain, tears running down his face as he tried to run to his brother’s side. But Castiel just held him tight, tears welling in his eyes as he felt his brother and boyfriend’s grief, along with his own, as he watched the paramedics wheeling a body from the wreckage, the thin white sheet not enough to hide it from brother and lover.

Gabriel eventually stopped screaming, long after the emergency services had left, taking the burnt shell of the Impala with them. Gabriel sat in the snow with his blanket, just staring, Castiel wanting to reach out. But Dean was shivering and needed to be taken home, so he left, the archangel grieving in the snow as he was finally left in peace.

He never did say goodbye to the last surviving Winchester or his brother before he disappeared, but it was mere days before Castiel heard of Gabriel’s death. He couldn’t even pretend to be surprised as he helped his boyfriend grieve.

And as the years passed and Dean refused to acknowledge the passing of Christmas, Castiel really couldn’t blame him, either.

 


End file.
